You and Me
by shadow-lupine
Summary: Science Boyfriends fic to the song You and Me by Alex Day. I'm beginning to think I am addicted to this pairing. A fluffy fic in which genius, billionaire Tony Stark wins over reluctant, stick-in-the-mud, brilliant Bruce Banner.
1. Chapter 1

You and Me

Chapter one

Word count: 1,502

Chapter Warnings: none.

Story warnings: Um, I don't really know yet. I haven't planned on anything that's really _that_ graphic. This is about two men who love each other, so there'll be adult themes of some sort.

A/N: Songfic to the song _You and Me_ by Alex Day, and from what he's said in his videos I don't think he'll mind me inserting the lyrics at the top of the chapters. I hope you like it!

* * *

_We knew it from the start_

_That we would be together in some way_

_You needed me, and you know I still need you back._

In the first moment that Tony Stark and Bruce Banner met, something magical happened. Or at least that's what Tony would say. Bruce would deny feeling anything right from the start; he was far more interested in not killing everyone on the helicarrier than looking for a potential partner amongst a group of eccentric 'superheroes'. Yet despite everything, there was soon a quick friendship struck up between the two scientists.

"All I brought was a toothbrush"

God Tony found Bruce appealing. It wasn't just the way that he didn't have to dumb down his language or speak at a pace that normal people would have found baffling. Or the general aesthetic appeal of his lab partner. It was that he found someone with whom he could speak openly to, someone that understood what it was like to be trapped, to have been trapped in your own mind and body. The desert. His father. Even his drinking at times had trapped Tony. Add on top of that one arc reactor and voila, he knew at least a little of what Bruce must have felt when he turned into The Hulk. Wait, no, what he must be feeling. It was strange, the sense of protectiveness that washed over him when Bruce was around, quietly trying to take up as little space as possible, trying not to be noticed. He wanted to take out his suit and smash everyone who looked at Bruce sideways, as though at any minute he was about to explode and kill them all. Anyone with eyes and a brain, so only Tony and Bruce himself, could see that that was never going to happen. And he had tested it, just to make sure! Bruce had just flinched and smiled_._ The guy had a lid on it for fuck's sake! Tony saw how careful Bruce was around people, putting up with their shit and hiding behind a calming smile, hiding what Tony knew was a dry wit and fierce humour.

"You're tiptoeing big fellah, you need to strut"

He wanted Bruce to be able to be himself, to show the world that a brilliant mind lay below the surface, not a monster. The admission that Bruce had tried to end his life shocked him. Even when Tony was dying, he never thought of it, never wanted to.  
Tony resolved himself to looking after Bruce, the guy needed someone to after all, whether or not he would admit it. Flying around Manhattan, on the day of the Fight, he couldn't help thinking about the scientist.  
He knew that he'd be back, it was obvious. Why were the others even surprised when he mentioned it? And then, when he returned, all rumpled with the quiet demeanour back in place he wanted to go join the guy, possibly even tackle him to the ground with happiness. If he wasn't currently being chased by an alien behemoth.

It all became a bit blurry during Loki's war, just fighting and adrenaline. Hulk smashed and Thor generated weather that he was sure would freak out the local wildlife, while Steve performed Heroics and Natasha and Clint tried to keep a lid on things in the normal way. It seemed that it was his job to take the A- bomb into outer space and fully test the capacities of his suit. He wasn't really planning on dying _per say_, just… Not existing anymore. It wasn't him being heroic or anything, it was just a job that needed to be done. Philanthropy aside, now that he had survived it, it was extraordinarily good press. And then, in a bizarre (to everyone else but Tony that is) twist, the Hulk had caught Tony as he fell back down, twisting so that he wasn't crushed by the car, and then scared him back to life. He didn't even hit him after too, which was nice.

It was a full circle, and Tony liked circles. From them hanging out in the lab, to Tony looking out for Bruce, to Bruce looking out for Tony, and then back to hanging out, with Shawarma. It was great, hanging out with the gang, sitting down and talking, music playing quietly in the background to distract from the wailing of sirens and people outside. Steve was shaken and Natasha was supporting a minor gash, but it was the most casual that they had been around each other by far, and it was reflected in how smoothly the conversation flowed from one topic to the next, about how they would and would not help fix Manhattan, how they would handle any press, who rooted for which baseball team (it was fun trying to explain the concept to Thor) to, finally, what they were going to do with their down time before the next thing tried to wipe out the human population. Steve, Clint and Natasha were going back to their respective bases, Thor was going back to supervise Loki and ultimately go back to Asguard and Bruce was going to go with Tony back to Malibu if he had any say in the matter.

"No Tony. Look, thanks for the offer and all, but I couldn't, really! I couldn't. I'd probably just break everything." He releases a huff of breath along with a self-depreciating smile that makes Tony want to hug him and find a way to put all the broken pieces of this man together. It seemed suddenly unfair that he could do it to himself, and create a new element in the process, yet it seemed so daunting, so impossible to do it to Bruce.

You know what? No. He was Tony Effing Stark. He did impossible things. Starting with getting this man to abuse his hospitality.

"Don't be such a Debbie Downer. You can totally crash at my place. I don't snore. I promise."

"Wha-"

"It's just an expression. But I don't for the record. Not that you'd hear me from my big, shiny, top of the line Scientific Laboratory of Science. Unless you wanted to. Do you want to?" He left the end deliberately ambiguous. Get the man to speak now and define the terms later and all that.

"Tony I-"

"Giant green rage monster, I know. But I really couldn't care less. And don't give me that look, we both know that you saved my life today. I don't think that he wanted to save it now to kill me later."

"We don't always get what we want."

"I'm Tony Stark and yeah, I think I do."

Bruce shrugged. "I don't"

"Yeah. But I do. Comes with the territory of being a billionaire genius etc. and I want you to come live with me, and I _know_ that you're not going to hurt me, see the part about being a genius billionaire. And whilst we're on the topic of me being a billionaire who is also a genius, I don't think that you have a place to stay tonight. Unless you wish to stay aboard the Mighty Metal Monstrosity in the sky, which I know for a fact that you don't. So come stay with me tonight in my tower, even if the air conditioning's a bit constant right now, and in the morning we can go to my house and you can set up. I really don't mind. At all. Science Labs of Science don't forget. And I'm kind of a genius."

"And you keep mentioning that fact as though it counts for something" But Bruce was smiling at Tony's rant. Or the Bruce Banner equivalent of a smile, where he just didn't look quite as haggard or sad as he normally did. Success for Tony Stark.

"Cool. Let's get going then."

"I never said-" he sighed as Tony opened his mouth 'There's really no winning with you, is there? Fine. Okay. But only for a few days. At the most."

"Just give it up now Banner" Natasha added, watching the two with amusement "Tony never gives up on anything. He's incorrigible."

Tony rolled his eyes while the others laughed, then they dispersed in their various directions. Tony had a car waiting to take them back to Stark Towers, and showed Bruce to a cot behind an x-ray machine in one of the labs, making bad jokes about how he should feel at home there. Tony was in the next lab over, in a cot behind some barrels of acid. In the morning Bruce would question if there were beds in all of the labs Tony used, as well as the health risks of entertaining such a sleeping pattern, but he really could be sleeping outside in the dirt for all he cared at that moment, and it wouldn't be the first time. He was tired and it was a bed. There would be things to do in the morning, apparently.


	2. Chapter 2

You and Me

Chapter 2

Word Count: 2,137

Warnings: None.

AN: My other fic, The Prince of Okay, can be seen as a bonus scene of sorts to this whole fic, it's in the same universe somewhere. Also I apologise for not warning about the swearing in my previous chapter, I kinda forgot about it. There will probably be more of it later on though.

* * *

_Don't get the wrong idea_

_We both know what this is and how it ends_

_But I can't wait to share all this with you_

It was a quick jump, once waking, to cleaning and dressing, then to the heli-carrier and finally down to the spot where Thor had just appeared. It was unreal, Bruce thought, that things _kept happening_. He should be used to it by now, with all the disasters he had been _involved_ with, but it was a new feeling to be hanging around in the aftermath instead of running away. He was both relieved and disappointed that Thor had to go. Relived because the other guy had tried to kill the god, but Thor was a good man, and didn't seem to harbour any ill feelings towards him for it, claiming that it was "the best workout he'd gotten in this realm". Of course it meant that Loki was gone too, along with the Tesseract, something for which all of them were thankful for. Especially Barton, who was still a little strung up over the whole mind control incident. Bruce could understand.

With the two gods vanished, there was a non-verbal agreement that it was time to go. It was a rather unemotional parting; they all knew they would be back. Nods and handshakes all round and then they were off.

Bruce wouldn't admit it, but he liked riding in the overly expensive convertible with Tony. He liked how he drove slightly faster than what a sane person would, the wind blowing through their hair and clothes. It was a testament to how much Bruce trusted Tony, that he could relax whilst speeding to the horizon with someone he had known for not even a month. He'd seen Tony fight, knew what his reactions were like. He also had a sneaking suspicion that JARVIS was in the car with them, and would make sure that nothing would happen to Tony. From what he'd heard, the AI was more protective than your average program, and no doubt a whole lot more sentient than even Tony let on. He hoped the program wouldn't rebuke him for what he did to the tower and immediately felt a little silly for thinking so. Obviously he had been watching far too many late-night horror movies to get him through the past few years of little sleep. They drove, the radio blasting an assortment of Tony's favourite rock music, loud and obnoxious, like him. Bruce surprisingly didn't mind it that much, and felt something loosening in his chest. He might be in a metal vessel, driven by possibly the only man that was more self-destructive than him, but something about the speed, or the music, or perhaps even Tony himself quieted the Other Guy and left him feeling more free than he ever had before.

The house, when they finally got there, was bigger than all the places Bruce had lived in combined. Opulent and worth more than a small nation, a quick tour showed that indeed there were ultra-high tech labs, though Bruce found the basement far more interesting. This was the place where the core of Tony's suit had been created, a faint scar on the concrete walls standing testament to that fact. The place was all Tony somehow, and the billionaire filled the room with his trademark energy, hopping from once 'small project' to the next. Bruce was quickly introduced to Dummy, and officially introduced to JARVIS, then was shown to his room. It was all a bit much to take in and Tony laughed at his stupefied expression, slinging an arm around his shoulders to lead him into the kitchen.

Bruce wasn't surprised to find out that Tony couldn't cook. But he did have tea and a machine to boil water. The machine in question probably started out as an everyday kettle, but now it boiled water in three seconds flat and played obnoxious music while it did so. It was no surprise to find out that Tony was drunk when he made the modifications. They sat around the breakfast bar with a bag of pretzels and their drinks, Tony idly pointing out the various features of the house and labs.

"So, whaddo you think?" He was practically grinning from ear to ear, glad that he had someone to show off to. Bruce smiled, shy but genuine.

"It's great. It's really great."

Tony gave him his best puppy dog eyes.

"Just great? What did I do wrong? I wanted to sweep you off your feet!" he finished with a dramatic gesture, flinging his arms wide.

"Just great."

Tony looked very affronted for the three seconds it took to realise that Bruce was joking. Right when he thought he had this man sussed out…

"Well. You haven't seen everything yet. Keep a hold of those socks Banner, just you wait" he gave his best daredevil grin and winked, just because he could. Bruce raised an eyebrow and gave a breath of a laugh.

"Yeah. We'll see"

"Oh we will." Bruce shook his head and levered himself up from his stool.

"Night Tony. Thanks for letting me crash here for a bit."

"Genius Billionaire says no worries."

"If I find one, I'll let him know he said that."

"Oh you think you're clever, don't you?"

"Night Tony."

It was easy, from that, to settle into a routine. Everything was in stark contrast to what Bruce had known before. Instead of frugal living, helping one person at a time, he could live without worrying about where his next meal was coming from and he decided to dedicate his time with Tony to creating things that had the potential to help the masses. It was nice too, to work with Tony. The man sure did have a great mind behind all of the bluster and arrogance. It wasn't often Bruce met someone like him, someone who could run with any idea and manipulate it into something that was breath-taking and wonderful. He was probably the only one that would juggle anything nearby absentmindedly while he did it.

Bruce wasn't blind. After spending so long watching his back for potential threats, he knew when he was being watched. There seemed to be routine that every few minutes Bruce would get a feeling that he was being watched then look up just in time to catch Tony looking down at his work. He was sure that Tony had some kind of pattern to it. _Every 150 seconds, look at Bruce for the approximately 12 seconds it took for him to notice, then look down at work._ Bruce had limited experience in these things, but he was pretty sure that there was only two reasons why someone would look at him that frequently, and Tony had already stated that he didn't think that Bruce was likely to transform into The Hulk. But Bruce also wasn't dumb, or so he liked to think. He knew that starting anything with Tony would be a capital B, capital I, Bad Idea. It was just… no. He had survived this long by not becoming attached. Friendship was risky. Anything more would be recklessly inviting danger in.

But Tony kept looking. And Bruce kept looking. Until one day Tony didn't look away. They just stood there, either side of the work bench, machines buzzing in the background whilst the flashes of colours from the various diagnostics on the screens splashed colour over the clean white surfaces. Still they looked. It seems to last an eternity and a half until Tony raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. It left Bruce feeling naked, exposed. Tony knew exactly why Bruce didn't think this was a good idea and challenged him to say it out loud. Then all his objections would be shut down.

And maybe Bruce wanted that, just a little. To have someone stand up and prove him wrong. Someone to tell him that it was okay to trust, okay to-

The corners of Bruce's mouth tightened, his hands balled at his side. Finally, with an effort and all the considerable amounts of control that Bruce possessed, he made himself tear his eyes away from Tony's and down to the floor. He couldn't. He just couldn't. Not to Tony. He steels himself and walks out, not looking back to see his lab partner's reaction.

He's shaking, just a little bit. He won't call it a tremble. He can feel the other guy stir a bit at his heightened emotional state, and forced himself to relax. He takes a deep breath and sat on the middle of the bed, turning on the TV to distract him from his thoughts.

Except, it only makes it worse.

On the large, crystal clear screen is... himself, then the Other Guy. He's roaring and smashing the alien invaders into the side of a building. Bruce has never really seen himself as The Hulk before, and it feels like someone's punched the wind out of him. He's shocked at the pure violence he's displaying, and this was when he was supposedly in control. He can't tear his eyes away as a 40-something year old woman come on screen, and the images of destruction become a background for her intellectualised, dramatic voice.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, would you really put your life, and the lives of your children under the protection of such a thing? How much can we really trust the organisation that employs people like this? Unstable, dangerous and willing to break the law, why do we let these so-called "superheroes", especially ones like Dr Banner, run wild? Should we treat them as helpful tools? Well, even tools need to be put away sometimes in case they hurt somebody. We'd like to talk to respected professor-"_

Bruce quickly turned off the screen. Blood was rushing though his head. He was used to this kind of reaction, but not on this scale. People on the street would know him now; know him not as the bumbling doctor that brought tuna sandwiches every Tuesday, but as a monster. Any chance he had now at anonymity was gone. He lived on people not knowing what dwelled beneath the surface of his skin, going to remote locations so that they wouldn't know his name, just another washed up doctor, wanting to help.

He had to get out of here, go somewhere beyond the technology barrier. What if they found out where he was? Sure he knew that S.H.E.I.L.D probably did, but what about other "interested parties"? How long before they were on his tail, trying to capture him so that they could… he had to leave. It wasn't safe for anyone if he stayed here.

He didn't feel as much anger as he might have previously expected. Sure it was there, and the Other Guy was showing an interest, but mostly he just felt sad and disappointed. He had become comfortable in this huge house with his eccentric lab mate. A small fraction of him had dared to think that he might have even found someplace to call home. He pushed all the feelings away. This is why he never became attached; it made leaving that much harder.

Quickly he packed his bag. He didn't need much. Clothes, toothbrush and a small computer that Tony had given him was all that he took. He glanced over at his stack of notes that lay on his dresser and pondered whether or not to take them. He didn't have the technology anymore to work on his projects. He leafed through them. There's a touch on his cure, and the major project he's working on, but mostly it's just idle equations for things like boosting Tony's thrusters, or the frequencies of Tony's stares (not that he was graphing them or anything), and a quick attempt at how Tony could totally hook a usb port into the arc reactor so he could charge his phone on the go. All the main gist of his work was on the computers in the labs. He could take it, but he really didn't feel the need. He decided to leave it for Tony; he was going to show him it eventually anyway. He couldn't resist and left a note on top of them.

_It's selfish and I'm sorry, but you know I had to do it.  
Bruce._

* * *

_AN: Did I say fluff? Because I lied._

_Also, Bruce's note is actually taken from a song called "I had to do it" by my favourite artist, Allison check her out, if you want._


	3. Chapter 3

You and Me

Chapter Three.

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 949

A/N: Just a quick warning that uploads might get a touch slower from here as I have exams coming up. You know how it is.

* * *

_Let's run away where they won't find us now._

_We'll hide far away but we'll be free,_

_Just you and me._

Bruce padded through the house, a block of guilt sliding back into its place in his stomach. It's for the best, he kept telling himself as he walked down the hallway, into the kitchen. It's dark, but that's no surprise. The room's used infrequently enough that it was more sense to use sensors so that it only lit up when there were actual people inside. Therefore it was a bit of a shock when the lights turned on to reveal Tony sitting in the dark, waiting for him like a cheap Hollywood villain.

"Bruce" he says quietly. Bruce feels his mouth tighten. He was afraid of this, he might have iron control but that was all in order to stop himself doing things that he _didn't_ want to do. No this.

'Tony". He fakes a smile.

Tony takes a deep breath. "Look, this is superpainful for me to say, ruins the whole aesthetic and all. You know, aloof, emotionless" he taps the circle of light in his chest. "Heartless. But we need to talk about this."

"Talk about what Tony?" He was starting to feel a bit panicky, still wound up by before. He wanted to get out, to run away like he usually did.

Tony points to the bag in his hand. "That." He swallows visibly. "Us."

Bruce raises an eyebrow "the fact that I'm a, how you say, Giant Green Rage Monster?"

"Bruce-"

"No Tony. I'm a monster, okay? They want to lock me up and for good reason too. I destroy things. I know. I've been there. And I'll destroy you too." He's breathing heavily by this point; a lump was in his throat. He focused on taking even breaths and Tony started to speak again, calmly and with an intensity he had never heard from the man before.

"I know what it's like too, okay? Don't get me wrong, I know I don't create as much… collateral damage as you do, but I've messed up big enough to know how it feels. And maybe I can't talk you out of leaving. But maybe I could help still?" I have an island, you know. No one knows about it. Pepper told me I should get a quiet space. I can guarantee your safety." He shifted closer, stepping just inside the boundaries of Bruce's personal space. "But I can guarantee that here too. No one. And I mean No One, will ever lock you up if I'm still alive, not even S.H.E.I.L.D. Not even if I'm dead. I've programmed JARVIS to look after you as he would me, even if I keel over. I trust you Bruce. And you might not trust yourself, but I can tell that you trust me, and I still hold by the fact that I know you won't hurt me."

Bruce didn't know how to respond to that. "You have an island?" He swallowed; Tony was still in his personal space.

"Middle of the Pacific. Nice little house on it. Though if I knew you were going to stay there I would've built a castle and you could be my tower princess." Even when he was being serious, Tony was still Tony. Not the Bruce had noticed yet. He felt like his brain was running at half speed, like Tony was somehow speaking a different language and was badly dubbed. His brain did latch onto one thing though.

"Princess?" he asked incredulously "I'm not exactly the fairest of them all, now am I?"

Tony smiled. This was good. He knew that if he kept Bruce distracted enough he'd calm down and see the sense in what he was saying. Being Tony Stark, there was naturally only one way to do that.

"You'll do. Though you're more of a Ariel. Or perhaps a Jasmine. I can show you the world… except I guess you've already seen most of it" he rapidly clicked his fingers, as though thinking "Ooh! Belle! You'd so be Belle! Intelligent, good looking, brilliant. Hmm. Sounds like me actually. Who knows, maybe I'd be Belle. Which would make you the Beast, though if that's the story we know how to sort that out…" He moved even closer to Bruce, who was still standing tensely in the entrance to the kitchen. He moved back at Tony's advance.

"Tony. No."

He looked so fragile and broken, even more so than he ever had in the past. Tony could see the tremble in the hand that clutched his bag and realisation struck him. That Bruce did actually believe the news reports and day time television hosts that wanted to lock him up and perform horrific experiments. And why shouldn't the guy? His chest hurt at the thought. Why did they have to do this to Bruce? What had the man ever done to deserve this sort of treatment? All he had done afterwards was help people and deny himself any sort of attachment. He forced down the unhelpful protective rage and took a step away, raising his hands calmingly.

"Okay. I get it. One thing at a time. Just stay. Please."

It was a word Bruce could have choked on. Or gotten used to.

"Okay."

* * *

_A/N: I'm sorry! Poor Bruce. But it will get more light hearted from here, I promise(/hope)! _

_Also, I'm totally a new writer, and all your reviews have been AMAZING. I love you all. xxx_


	4. Chapter 4

You and Me

Chapter four

Word Count: 1,525

Warnings: Violence, swearing.

A/N: This is the chapter where The Prince of Okay fits in.

* * *

_The time will go so fast_

_But we will savour every moment that we share_

_And I will give myself to only you._

Thankfully for Tony, Bruce quickly settled down into a routine again. He lied when he said that he had an island in the Pacific, but he was positive he could get one overnight if he needed to. He wasn't lying when Pepper said that he needed a quiet space.

Pepper. That almost hurt. He loved her, and they were great together. But he wasn't _in love_ with her, and she wasn't _in love_ with him. Tony had almost thought that he might have been, until he had met Bruce. Bruce filled up all the gaps in his heart while Pepper only numbed the pain from them. She was still around, of course, and they were still great together. Really, if Tony could just get Bruce to come round, then everything would be perfect.

It was weird, how much he needed Bruce around. Even as just a friend. His drinking had slowed considerably once Bruce had frowned at him and given his hung-over ass a lashing about the health risks and the stupidity of drinking himself blind. It was possibly the closest Bruce had been to Hulking out, bar the night he tried to leave, since he had arrived. Later, he had confessed that his father was a drunkard and Tony's heart had fallen to pieces on the soft carpet of his living room, he had known what it was like to grow up with a father that was less than stellar, it hurt to know how Bruce had been treated, how the guy never really had a break from all the anger, pain and frustration. "I'm always angry" he had said, and it really was true.

It just made Tony more determined than before, if that was possible.

They were hanging out in the lab, working on their individual projects, Tony on yet another version of his clean energy reactor and Bruce on the most recent medical conundrum. Tony liked to find these problems for Bruce to solve and subtly get JARVIS to keep them on the screen for Bruce to see. Hopefully by keeping the guy feeling useful, then he wouldn't get too restless. It was a quiet sort of day, they were too engrossed in their work for their usual banter, but it was a comfortable one. Normally Tony would be hitting the walls if there was someone in the lab watching him work, but it was far more soothing to his mind to have his not-yet-but-eventually-you'll-see boyfriend in there with him. Otherwise he's be constantly worrying about whether or not he'd get a notice from JARVIS telling him that Doctor Banner was trying to leave. Bruce didn't grate on his senses like most people, and it was fun to prod the guy when his attention span ran out, which was frequently.

So naturally, it was on that day that the drill happened. Or what was supposed to be a drill.

The S.H.E.I.L.D plane touched down just as JARVIS alerted them; something was attacking San Francisco. Tony raced ahead and swore loudly when it came into view.

It towered above the scenery, at least 20 metres high and covered in long tentacles of a biological fused with mechanical nature. A crowd of baby one skittered around it, crushing all the cars and buildings that were in the way.

"What the hell is this? If we were having electric sushi for lunch, I would've brought my chopsticks" Tony joked, circling the perimeter. Civilians were screaming and running for their lives, but they weren't being actively pursued. He heard Natasha's voice through his receiver as they came into view.

"This was meant to be a drill. Not an invasion"

Cap, naturally, was outraged "In the middle of a civilian population? What was Fury thinking?"

"I was thinking that when you landed in that field on your right, that specially programmed Robots would attack you".

"Speak of the Devil" quoted Tony. The field in question was outside of the city so should be suitable for a robot attack. "Can we set those robots to attack the not-flying Spaghetti Monster?" he asked

"I'll get onto it. Just get those dammed things out of the city. We don't need a repeat of last time, you hear me?"

"Aye aye. JARVIS, get on it too." The AI responded confidently that he would.

He flew closer to the Big Momma Monster and had to dodge quickly to avoid the 'punch' it threw at him. Okay, bit not good. He swept past it again, teasing it in order to get it to follow. Shit. Shit shit shit, that thing was faster than Cap confronted with rap music. He blasted a little higher and added a bit more power to his thrusters. He saw Cap on the ground, trying to heard them away and protect the civilians, but with little success. They didn't seem to notice him, until he threw his shield at one of them. Then they started to swarm up to him, electricity sparking between their noodley appendages. Hawkeye loosed an arrow at them, from the roof of the plane, of all things, and he heard it explode behind them. The big one was still after him, and he swerved to try and confuse it. No such luck.

He fired a beam at a few of the little ones, to get them along and kept flying. He didn't notice them joining together to make a papa monster until it was too late. The thing was on him. It wormed its way through his armour, the tentacles, or whatever they were, were far more flexible than anything naturally from earth. He screamed in pain when they touched him, his skin started burning with the heat of ten thousand suns, or about ten days in the desert at once. He had reached the edge of the field when he lost consciousness.

He awoke to find himself curled around a nearly naked Bruce Banner. Which would be perfect if they weren't in the middle of a decimated field and he wasn't in excruciating pain. His armour was beaten up, and the battle seemed to be over, so he dissembled it into podform to get a good look at his arm. Said appendage was swollen and a tentative prod revealed that it was blue from bruising, not poison. Which was good, because he was really not in the right mind-set right now to replace even more of his body with machinery. Even if giving himself permanent super strength would be cool. He heard Bruce groan and felt him sit up, limbs shaking. With protesting limbs, he did to, muttering what he hoped were soothing words as he supported the guy from behind, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close as the trembling started. He submitted to his baser instincts and let himself run his fingers through Bruce's hair. Even through all the dirt and stuff it was surprisingly soft. He wanted a shower and a soft clean bed. Or in fact a soft bed then a shower, because he doubted he could stand at the moment. But whatever the order, he wanted Bruce in there too.

"Tony…"

"You called?" he kept his voice light, though the pain in Bruce's voice only increased the pressure in his chest. He wanted to get him back to the house pronto so he could tuck him between the sheets in his bed and feed him as much of that disgusting tea he liked as he could handle. Then they would talk science and cuddle – two of Tony's favourite pastimes.

'You okay?" Came the response. Add kissing to that list because, mad did Tony want to kiss him right at that moment.

"Of course I'm okay? Why wouldn't I be okay? I'm the king of Okay! Wait, no I'm the Man of Iron, aren't I? But if I wasn't I would totally be the King of Okay. Or the Prince of Okay. That's more me, isn't it? Hmmm. Prince of Perfectly Fine perhaps? Bit much?" he was babbling but hey, beaten up by a noodle squid, okay?

"Yeah…" Bruce was close to passing out, and didn't seem to be fighting it. He nestled further into Tony's chest, causing him to chuckle lightly. Honour be dammed, Bruce was going to be his no matter what.

He lowered his head to rest near Bruce's "let go, Big Guy" he whispered, and Bruce did.

Tony let himself press his lips to the guy's temple, lingering slightly to inhale the smell of him. Underneath the pain and sweat was something warm and comforting that smelled a little of the home Tony had never had. He heard footprints and let Hawkeye and Cap carry Bruce to the plane. Wiping his eyes discreetly, he forced himself to his feet and followed them.

* * *

A/N: This is much more fun than Classics study. And see? I can be nice[ish] to Bruce!

I also apologise to any member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti monster. No disrespect was meant with this chapter.

Also once again thank you to all who have reviewed, and all those who haven't reviewed but have actually taken the time to read this story. Your attention is appreciated.

xxx


	5. Chapter 5

You and Me

Chapter 5

Word count: 1,263

Warnings: Mentions of mild sexual situations. Incorrect medical advice and incorrect mathematical terms because I am a Classics Major or something. Just roll with it.

A/N: Oh my Odin, I can't believe I made it to chapter 5, if all goes to plan, there's only one chapter left! Which is amazing for me, because I am not a finisher. *snickers*

* * *

_And when we go back home_

_I'll count the days till I can run with you_

_And see your face and fall asleep for one more night_

There were many good things to having Bruce around. Not only was he not bad on the eyes, brilliant, a great cook and a lovely conversationalist he was also a great doctor. Which meant that Tony did not have to go with Barton to the sick bay on the Heli-carrier. Instead he got to lie back on his comfy bed and let some of the most excellent hands on the planet gently prod his arm and shoulder. He'd consider it heaven if it didn't hurt so damned much.

"Sorry" came the soft, almost mumbled reply. Tony turned his head from where it was buried in his pillow to look at the guy. He had been trying really, _really, _hard not to flinch but Bruce had known. The man's face had twisted into an empathetic, broken smile in such an honest way that Tony was starting to become very glad he was lying face down.

"It's nothing. Did I tell you about the time I got a bit of shrapnel wedged in my body? Then I had my ticker replaced?"

Bruce didn't say anything but his hands kept surveying Tony's shoulder before sliding down to his wrist. His hands didn't stop when they reached his wrist and continued their journey back up to his shoulder, soothing the reddened flesh.

"You're not allergic to sea food are you" He finally joked as his hands traced the skin where Tony's neck reached the rest of his body. Tony bit back a rather inappropriate purr to make negative noise and huff out a laugh.

"Okay. Well it looks like an allergic reaction, but I'm not an expert in alien biotech squids. You really should have gone with Barton, but I think you'll be okay In a few days if you don't start to scratch it when it starts to heal."

Tony winged. In a many fashion of course. 'I didn't wanna go to S.H.E.I.D" and pouted a bit, because he knew it would make Bruce laugh. The other man, as though on cue, let out a huff and rolled his eyes before excusing himself.

Predictably, before Tony could even roll over and sigh like the Disney Princess he was, his phone rang. He contemplated not answering, but JARVIS told him it was Pepper who promptly told him to get his ass down to New York and do some press work instead of doing _whatever _it was he was doing with one Bruce Banner. When he told her that _nothing was happening_ she just laughed at the tormented tone in his voice and bullied him into flying down.

Tony was not pleased about this, and made sure to let everybody know by being twice as snarky as usual, all while retaining a present smile of course. He had left Bruce behind, or rather Bruce had left himself behind, saying that he didn't want to go back to New York just yet while wearing that self-depreciating smile that made Tony want to push him into bed and kiss him until he realised how much he meant to the billionaire. But no, Bruce was back in Malibu and Tony was at this helluva boring press conference and not kissing Bruce. Eventually (a few minutes later) he couldn't take any more and announced as such before jumping out an open window and calling the Iron Man suit to him. Just because. And it was fun too, until Pepper caught up to him and gave him a dressing down. When had she gotten this bossy? She was worse than Bruce was when he decided to spend over 24 hours in the lab. He could now calculate the optimal length of his lecture by triangulating the differential of the angle of her eyebrow to the width of her stance, not that he'd tell her of course. He managed to placate her before she got into full swing and she ended up smiling then letting him take her out for food.

When he eventually got to the long since repaired Stark Tower penthouse, Tony was vaguely at a loss as to what to do. It was a new feeling, but not a novel one in the least. He tinkered around in a lab, but didn't feel much like revolutionising the world today. He hung around the lower levels, just to watch his employees, especially the female ones, get flustered around him, made a general nuisance of himself, considered prank calling Fury, then Barton, then Obama, before heading back up to the penthouse where he watched the first 10 minutes of about five different movies. He flopped back on the sunken sofa, frustrated beyond belief. He wanted to go smash something, but he really couldn't be bothered. He flopped onto his stomach briefly, then back onto his back before rolling off onto the floor and letting out a loud groan.

"Is everything all right sir?" JARVIS almost sounded concerned.

"Yes JARVIS" he replied despondently. He was trying, really, really, really, _really,_ hard not to go over to the bar and get wasted. Really hard. Every time he tried to get up, Bruce's face floated to the forefront of his mind. Somewhere along the line the guy had apparently become his conscience. Tony suspected that it went so far that if he did do something bad, the Bruce in his mind would Hulk out. And on that thought, he managed to find the energy to drag himself into the shower to employ some not so innovative ways to relive some of his boredom and tension. He mirrored his earlier encounter with his couch and flopped down on his bed, wishing he could sleep. But since the dawn of time, Tony Stark was not a sleeping man. The good thing was that he now was in love with… erhm, knew a man who didn't sleep either.

He called Bruce and put him on speaker. It was somewhere past 1 and predictably, the man was wide awake. Unpredictably, he was watching some sort of horrible horror movie, which Tony filed away under the 'things to tease Bruce about mercilessly' list. It was nice talking to Bruce, even if Bruce wasn't the most talkative of people. It was mostly that the guy was a great listener in the way that even if you were just blithely talking at him he would both listen to every word you were saying at face value, as well as read between the lines and listen to all the things you weren't saying. And when he did say something, it was always measured to make sure he was putting enough input into the conversation. They eventually ended up swapping technobabble about random things, it might have been if it was actually possible to make a "Frankenstein's Monster", with Bruce joking weakly that he was proof that they already had. Eventually, just as the sun was rising, they drifted off to sleep without hanging up.

When he awoke, several hours later, it was to Pepper with a stack of paperwork and a cup of coffee. Sure, they had a great breakfast, and he loved posing for photographs, but he couldn't help the fact that his mind kept wandering back to the two-in-one scientist that was waiting for him back home. Especially now that he had a plan.


	6. Chapter 6

You and Me

Chapter six

Word Count: 1, 052

Warnings: Just the usual I guess.

A/N: I'll leave the sentimental thank you speech until the end, shall I?

* * *

_Let's run away where they won't find us now_

_We'll run far away and we'll be free, just you and me_

_Just you and me._

Tony had to remind himself that being gone for two days did not, in fact, constitute an eternity and so throwing himself dramatically at his lab partner would not be appropriate. Which was even more reason to do so, but it would interfere with _the plan_.

He forced himself to sit down in the kitchen and make small talk, telling Bruce about how everyone had loved his new developments in clean energy, as well as how he had heard from Pepper, who had apparently heard from Maria, who had heard Fury when he was gossiping to the lunch lady, that a certain Hawk and a certain Widow were sharing a room on the heli-carrier a few weeks ago. Bruce gave a genuine smile at the news and brought Tony some of the tea he was making.

Now, Tony didn't usually drink tea, preferring about 12 shots of espresso, but it was all part of the plan. When Bruce carefully set the cup down on the table, Tony equally as carefully leant up and pressed a chaste kiss on his scruffy cheek. Bruce jerked back, surprised, and almost upended the table. He didn't go green, Tony had tested this theory back in the early days, but the guy was startled and on the verge of annoyed all the same. Tony gave him his best innocent face.

"what? I was just being friendly. You made me tea."

Bruce opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out of the baffled man. Tony resisted the urge to take advantage, picked up his cup and almost literally waltzed down to the lab.

He did the same thing again, just before lunch. Bruce had suck in, all suspicious like, but Tony had greeted him normally and kept his distance until Bruce had shrugged off the incident. Then he did it again.

"Bruce, pass me the pliers would you?" Bruce complied and Tony snuck another kiss onto his cheek before the guy stepped away, blushing slightly.

"Tony, no."

"No what?"

"No… that"

"I didn't do anything."

Bruce huffed, Tony loved it when he huffed, and deliberately moved his stuff to the other side of the work bench. Though that didn't stop him dropping the microwavable pizza in front of him at lunch when he could have slid it across, taking the now expected kiss silently.

It could be, of course, that Bruce was just putting up with Tony, striking it down as another one of those mad ideas that he got sometimes. Or he could be doing it in the hope that if he submitted, Tony wouldn't push him for more.

But he was Tony Stark. And Bruce Banner let him into his personal space. That spoke volumes.

Pepper had suggested, when he was telling her this plan that maybe he should just let Bruce be and give him time, if it was going to happen, it would do so eventually. But Tony knew Bruce better than that. This guy would not make the first move. He was too scared, or too worried, even though the colour on his cheeks when Tony brushed against him, and the way that his pupils had dilated when Tony had kissed him screamed that he did really want this.

So Tony had taken initiative and hatched a plan. A brilliant plan that was going to get him everything he wanted. He knew it was going to work because Tony _always_ got what he wanted. So he kept taking intuitive for the next week, noticing how Bruce would sometimes subconsciously lean in for the lips-to-cheek contact once he had handed something over. He was just about to employ stage two of his brilliant plan (of brilliant-ness) but Bruce decided to call him out.

"Tony. I know what you're trying to do. You're not being subtle."

"Of course I'm not, because I'm not doing anything?" Tony deliberately tilted his head "unless you wanted me to?"

"You're… desensitising me to try and lead me into a false sense of security so that I will shack up with you. Unfortunately it won't work and you'll be torn to pieces." The tone was bitter and full of self-loathing. Tony realised that even the mighty Bruce Banner, Paragon of Control would have a breaking point. He swallowed.

"Look, I'm not going to deny I want to shack up with you. Permanently. But it's not about giving you a false sense of security; it's about giving you a real one. I'm not going to hurt you and you're not going to hurt me. The other guy, _you,_ won't either. He's saved my life twice now, and I'm willing to be that he'd do it a third time too."

Bruce gave a sarcastic laugh, his voice twisting to the one he had used during the argument on the heli-carrier. He meant for this to hurt. "You'd bet? How much? On what?"

Tony would not be cowed or provoked into an argument so that Bruce could huff and walk away like he wanted to. He stepped deliberately into Bruce's personal space and looked up at the guy. He saw the plea in those pain-filled brown eyes and quietly stated what they both knew was the truth.

"Everything. I would risk everything on you Bruce Banner." He was forever unsure exactly who started it, but somehow they were kissing. Bruce looked shaken as fuck when they parted, but dove straight back in, kissing Tony as though he would never get the chance to do so again. Tony slid one of his hands into Bruce's hair, the other once cupping his face, trying to sooth him and voice all the promises he wanted to make. He thought that Bruce understood and focused on fixing his shirt while Bruce discreetly wiped his eyes.

"I still don't think this is a good idea" he confessed with a smile. Tony mirrored the action, giving him a reckless grin.

"Is it going to stop you?"

Bruce acted like he was considering it "I'm not sure, maybe you need to convince me?"

And Tony did.

* * *

A/N: THERE. DONE. FOR NOW.

But really, I had great fun writing this and reading all your reviews and comments! You're all fab.

I hope you've enjoyed the story, and it'd be cool if you could favourite/review, but like usual, I'll love you if not, just for reading this far.

See you next time my lovelies.

xxx


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